Most French surnames can be sorted into a handful of types, and once you know the types, the meaning of many names becomes clear. A name may tell you what an ancestor did for a living, where he lived, what he looked like, or whose son he was. This guide gives the main categories with examples, and explains the endings and prefixes that trip people up.
Occupational surnames
Trades gave rise to some of the most readable French surnames:
| Surname | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Boulanger | baker |
| Boucher | butcher |
| Charpentier | carpenter |
| Fournier | baker or oven-keeper |
| Meunier | miller |
| Berger | shepherd |
| Marchand | merchant |
| Mercier | haberdasher or small merchant |
| Lefèvre, Lefebvre, Favre | smith (from Latin faber) |
| Tessier, Tisserand | weaver |
| Charron | cartwright |
| Cordier | rope-maker |
The smith is a good example of how widely a single occupation spread: Lefebvre, Lefèvre, Le Febvre, and Favre are all forms of the same origin, shaped by regional pronunciation. See our guide to spelling variants for how to search for them all.
Place and residence surnames
Many surnames describe where a person lived, often with the prefixes du, de la, or des, meaning “of the”:
| Surname | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dupont | of the bridge |
| Dubois | of the wood |
| Dumont | of the hill |
| Delacroix | at the cross |
| Dupuis, Dupuy | of the well or hill (regional forms) |
| Lafontaine | the fountain or spring |
| Larivière | the river |
| Duchesne | of the oak |
Surnames of regional or ethnic origin
A person who moved away from home might be named after his origin, as seen by his new neighbors:
| Surname | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Lebreton | the Breton |
| Lenormand, Normand | the Norman |
| Picard | from Picardy |
| Langlois | the Englishman |
| Lallemand | the German |
| Bourguignon | the Burgundian |
| Lombard | from Lombardy |
| Gascon | from Gascony |
Nicknames: appearance and character
| Surname | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Petit | small |
| Legrand, Legros | the big or stout one |
| Leroux, Roux | red-haired |
| Lenoir, Noir | dark |
| Lebrun | brown-haired |
| Leblanc, Blanc | fair or white-haired |
| Lejeune | the young one |
| Lesage | the wise one |
| Lefort | the strong one |
| Moreau | dark-complexioned |
Titles and status names
Names such as Lemoine (the monk), Lévêque (the bishop), Chevalier (the knight), Leroy (the king), and Lecomte (the count) look grand, but they rarely indicate noble descent. They could be nicknames, names for a servant of a household or an actor in a procession or play, or simply jokes. A surname with a title in it is a clue to be tested, not proof.
Given names that became surnames
Many of the most common French surnames began as personal names. Some are Latin or biblical, and many are Germanic:
| Surname | Origin |
|---|---|
| Martin | Latin Martinus, linked to the cult of Saint Martin |
| Bernard | Germanic, “bear” and “brave” |
| Robert | Germanic, “fame” and “bright” |
| Richard | Germanic, “power” and “hard” |
| Guillaume | Germanic, “will” and “helmet” |
| Lambert | Germanic, “land” and “bright” |
| Thomas | from Aramaic through Greek, “twin” |
| Simon, Laurent, Nicolas | from Hebrew, Latin, and Greek given names |
Endings that mean “little” or “son of”
French uses diminutive endings that turn a given name into a surname. A son might be called by a pet form of his father’s name, and the pet form stuck. Common endings include -et, -ot, -in, -on, and -eau. Robin, for example, is a diminutive of Robert, and Perrot comes from Pierre.
Prefixes: Le, La, Du, De la, Des
Le and La mean “the,” and Du, De la, and Des mean “of the.” They are part of the surname and are often written joined (Lefebvre), separated (Le Febvre), or capitalized in different ways. When searching, try all forms.
Cautions when reading meanings
- Meanings changed. A word may have meant something different in the Middle Ages than it does in modern French.
- Different sources disagree. Etymologies are often debated, so treat any single explanation as one view.
- Regional forms differ. A name may come from a regional language, so a French dictionary may not explain it. See our guide to regional surnames.
- The meaning is not the family. A surname tells you something about the first bearer, not about every later one.
For standard references, consult etymological dictionaries of French surnames and online resources such as Geneawiki’s article on onomastics. For the overall picture, return to our complete guide to French surname origins.
Illustrative composite (not a real family): A researcher named Boucher in Louisiana learns that her name means “butcher,” but the records show her ancestors were farmers for generations. The name probably described the first bearer’s trade, and was inherited long after the family had moved on to other work.
Names from the calendar and from religion
The church year left its mark on surnames. Noël, for a child born at Christmas, Toussaint (All Saints), and Pascal (from Easter) are all familiar French surnames, and many families carry the name of a saint who was venerated in their parish. Names such as Lemoine and Lévêque come from religious roles rather than from saints, as noted above. When you see a religious-sounding name, check whether it began as a given name, a birth-date name, or a nickname.
Names from animals, plants, and the countryside
The countryside gave dozens of surnames. Renard (fox), Loup (wolf), Lelièvre (hare), and Lecoq (rooster) are nicknames that evoke an animal’s traits, while names such as Delorme (of the elm) and Duchesne (of the oak) refer to trees near a person’s home. As with other nicknames, the animal may have been a joke, a trait, or a feature of the landscape rather than a literal description.
How to check a meaning
- Check variants first. The real origin may be clearer in an older or regional spelling. See spelling variants.
- Compare several sources. Etymological dictionaries and wikis often disagree, so note both explanations.
- Look at where the name is concentrated. A name that clusters in Brittany probably has a Breton origin. See regional surnames.
- Look at the earliest records. Early forms are often closest to the original meaning.
- Do not stop at the dictionary. Confirm the family’s line in the registers, as in our complete guide to tracing French ancestry.
Frequently asked questions
- My name looks like an English word. Is it French? It may be an English translation of a French name. See anglicized French surnames.
- Is the most common name the most “French”? No. Common names such as Martin simply began as common given names. See the most common French surnames.
- Where can I read more about surname types? The FamilySearch Research Wiki on France and French genealogy wikis offer guides to onomastics.
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